London Spirit finally got off the mark in the 2026 men's Hundred, chasing down MI London's 164 for 5 with seven wickets and 11 balls to spare at The Oval.

The catalyst was 20-year-old South African Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who smashed 64 off 28 balls — three fours and seven sixes — despite leaving the field during the first innings after colliding with teammate James Coles while chasing a catch. He returned fit to open the batting and promptly tore into the MI London attack BBC Sport.

The Hundred, for the uninitiated, is cricket's 100-balls-per-side format — shorter than a T20, with each team facing exactly 100 deliveries. The 2026 tournament began on 21 July and runs through 16 August Sky Sports.

MI London had posted a competitive total, built on a 91-run opening partnership between Will Jacks and James Vince. Jacks top-scored with 65 from 44 balls; Vince contributed 26. Sherfane Rutherford added a brisk 41 off 19, clearing the rope four times, before being caught by James Coles off the last ball of the innings from Andrew Tye BBC Sport.

Jamie Overton was London Spirit's standout bowler, returning 3 for 30 and removing Jacks, Nicholas Pooran and Jason Roy in mid-innings bursts that kept the target within reach.

Pretorius then made the chase look straightforward. He shared 63 for the first wicket with Jonny Bairstow (23) and added a further 38 with Liam Livingstone (16) before falling to Richard Gleeson, caught by Rutherford. By then the damage was done. James Rew (19 not out) and Dewald Brevis (37 off 18) saw Spirit home, Brevis accelerating through the finishing straight with the same freedom Pretorius had shown at the top.

The win lifted London Spirit off the bottom of the table into sixth place, above Southern Brave and Birmingham Phoenix. It was their first victory after three matches this season. MI London, with two wins and two defeats, sit fourth BBC Sport.

For Pretorius, it was the kind of innings that turns a name into a talking point. Aged 20, playing in a format designed for exactly this sort of headline-grabbing hitting, he overcame a mid-match injury scare and still outscored every other batter on the field.

Earlier in the day, the women's fixture between the same two sides ended in far tighter fashion. London Spirit drew level late on, meaning MI London's women avoided a fourth consecutive defeat The Hundred.

MI London's men had also lost to Welsh Fire earlier in the tournament, when Rachin Ravindra's 98 off 44 at Sophia Gardens powered the Cardiff side to 167 for 5 against MI London's 152 for 6 Yahoo Sport.

For London Spirit, though, this evening belonged to a young South African who picked himself up off the turf and then knocked down a target that had looked anything but small.